A US bank account solution for US expats

Update on my experience of using a USB security key (Yubikey) for BoA login:

I figured-out that Bitwarden (password manager) that I have as an extension on Chrome was interfering with the registration of my Yubikey.  After disabling auto-fill for BoA in Bitwarden, the registration of my Yubikey went without a hitch.

So now, to login to the BoA website, I just enter my User ID and password, plug my Yubikey into a USB port, enter my PIN to my Yubikey, then touch the Yubikey, and I'm logged in to my account.

So I no longer need a USA phone number to log in.   Sweet!   

Update on my experience of using a USB security key (Yubikey) for BoA login:

I figured-out that Bitwarden (password manager) that I have as an extension on Chrome was interfering with the registration of my Yubikey.  After disabling auto-fill for BoA in Bitwarden, the registration of my Yubikey went without a hitch.

So now, to login to the BoA website, I just enter my User ID and password, plug my Yubikey into a USB port, enter my PIN to my Yubikey, then touch the Yubikey, and I'm logged in to my account.

So I no longer need a USA phone number to log in.   Sweet!   

That’s good. Thanks for the update.

FYI, the ACA web site has changed, so the landing page is now https://www.americansabroad.org/sdfcu

I've been unable to join the ACA, as their credit card page doesn't seem to work. (I've tried various browsers on various operating systems.) I've tried to contact ACA, but I'm getting no response.

If you need a US bank account geared towards US citizen expats American Citizens Abroad and the State Department Federal Credit Union have got together to offer an account that can be opened from outside the USA, provides inexpensive international transfers through Wise, and says it give easy online access from overseas. This could be a very useful tool at a time when some US banks and brokerages are making it difficult for their expatriate customers,

https://www.americansabroad.org/sdfcu-account/

I'm one of those USC's without a US address or any other form of contact in the US so this looks like a good option.

I currently receive my US SS directly into my Wise account and transfer to my HSBC UK £ account as and when needed. I do accumulate $'s into my Wise account - but don't earn any interest on the balance - low 5 figures. I prefer to keep US$ as I believe that the $/£ exchange rate will strengthen the closer we get to elections later in the year (others may differ in their opinions here!  )

I see that SDFCU offers share certificates paying 5.2% APY over 15 months which is very competitive - does anyone know if these are available through the ACA/SDFCU? Any drawbacks that anyone can see? (Federally insured up to $250k - so not an issue there then!).

   

Immediately after posting I fired off a question to SDFCU and got a reply within 20 minutes!

Thank you for your email and interest in SDFCU. Current members of ACA are eligible to apply for membership with SDFCU. We are able to maintain accounts with foreign addresses, and you would be eligible to request share certificates. You may submit an application on our website www.sdfcu.org under “Join.”

Sincerely,


First question answered 

Immediately after posting I fired off a question to SDFCU and got a reply within 20 minutes!

Thank you for your email and interest in SDFCU. Current members of ACA are eligible to apply for membership with SDFCU. We are able to maintain accounts with foreign addresses, and you would be eligible to request share certificates. You may submit an application on our website www.sdfcu.org under “Join.”

Sincerely,


First question answered 

My daughter uses SDFCU (thank you to this site!) and had a similar experience with speed of response to a query. Her query was on wire transfer fees and there are none for incoming wires which is great for her as Chase were charging her $15 for every wire and she receives at least one incoming wire every month.

I managed to join ACA and then open an account with SDFCU, and have been very pleased with SDFCU's responses. So far, so good. Thanks for all the information on this!

Thanks  to @nun  for the heads up on this.

I joined ACA ($55 fee) and then followed their link to open a savings account with SDFCU. I used WISE to fund the account (39c fee from WISE for a $/$ transfer).

Having got the savings account funded, I opened a share certificate (minimum deposit requirement is $500) at 5.2% per annum fixed for 15 months. Happy days